AUSTIN — Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz raised $2 million between July and September for his re-election campaign, slightly more than his Democratic challenger, U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke of El Paso.

O’Rourke raised $1.7 million during the same period and has $2.8 million on hand heading into the next quarter, a $1 million bump for his campaign bank account since June. Cruz has nearly $6.4 million on hand.

While O'Rourke surprised political experts by outraising incumbent Cruz during his first reporting period of the campaign — collecting nearly $2.1 million to Cruz’s $1.6 million — the same experts say the latest numbers are more realistic indicators of what to expect from his campaign moving forward.

"At this stage in the game, O’Rourke and his team like having support they can tangibly point to and credibly claim that they’re making strides to connect to people and put infrastructure in place, but in the long term, collecting donations on a small scale will continue to produce moderate but not outstanding campaign figures," said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston.

He added that O'Rourke's decision to not take money from political action committees and a lack of large donations to his campaign make victory over Cruz impossible.

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Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz speaks at a town hall meeting with U.S. Border Patrol agents in August in El Paso.(Photo: RUBEN R. RAMIREZ/EL PASO TIMES)

O’Rourke, 45, officially launched his Senate campaign in March, pledging not to collect any campaign contributions from PACs and to keep his campaign efforts focused on Texas.

While he is widely considered an underdog in the race, O'Rourke has gotten attention for his "seat-of-the-pants" style campaign that relies on Facebook's live video feature and intimate town hall meetings in cities across Texas.

Cruz won his Senate seat in 2012 and last year campaigned for the Republican presidential nomination against Donald Trump, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and a host of other candidates. He previously served as solicitor general of Texas, working under then-Attorney General Greg Abbott.

Mark Jones, a political scientist at Rice University, said while Cruz didn't raise a shocking amount during the latest quarter, his pool of potential campaign contributors is larger than O'Rourke's, because the Democrat has pledged not to take PAC money.

"Cruz will always maintain an advantage over O’Rourke because he has the ability to tap a host of resources, from Republican donors to PACs, to a variety of other interest groups, if he feels that O’Rourke is getting too close," Jones said, adding that O'Rourke's haul is "very good, but to really introduce himself to Texans and challenge Cruz, he’s going to need more money."

Jones said Cruz will likely double down on fundraising efforts in January, when the election is in closer view.

“Sen. Cruz is taking on every fight that Texas voters elected him to take," Cruz spokeswoman Catherine Frazier said in a statement. "And he will continue to lead the charge to ensure promises made to the voters are promises kept."

Supporters brought supplies and to listen to Congressman Beto O'Rourke address the crowd that came out to support his "Rally for Relief," held at Ode Brewery Thursday night.
RUBEN R. RAMIREZ/EL PASO TIMES

Supporters and campaign workers came out to Ode Brewery Thursday night to support Congressman Beto O'Rourke at his "Rally for Relief," held at Ode Brewery Thursday night.
RUBEN R. RAMIREZ/EL PASO TIMES

Supporters brought supplies and to listen to Congressman Beto O'Rourke address the crowd that came out to support his "Rally for Relief," held at Ode Brewery Thursday night.
RUBEN R. RAMIREZ/EL PASO TIMES

Supporters mingle before making their way into to listen to Congressman Beto O'Rourke address the crowd that came out to support his "Rally for Relief," held at Ode Brewery Thursday night.
RUBEN R. RAMIREZ/EL PASO TIMES

Congressman Beto O'Rourke shares some time with supporters before addressing the crowd that came out to support his "Rally for Relief," held at Ode Brewery Thursday night.
RUBEN R. RAMIREZ/EL PASO TIMES

Congressman Beto O'Rourke shares some time with supporters before addressing the crowd that came out to support his "Rally for Relief," held at Ode Brewery Thursday night.
RUBEN R. RAMIREZ/EL PASO TIMES

Congressman Beto O'Rourke shares a beer with Ode Brewery owners before addressing the crowd that came out to support his "Rally for Relief," held at Ode Brewery Thursday night.
RUBEN R. RAMIREZ/EL PASO TIMES

Congressman Beto O'Rourke shares a beer with Ode Brewery owners before addressing the crowd that came out to support his "Rally for Relief," held at Ode Brewery Thursday night.
RUBEN R. RAMIREZ/EL PASO TIMES

Congressman Beto O'Rourke shares a beer with Ode Brewery owners before addressing the crowd that came out to support his "Rally for Relief," held at Ode Brewery Thursday night.
RUBEN R. RAMIREZ/EL PASO TIMES

Congressman Beto O'Rourke shares a beer with Ode Brewery owners before addressing the crowd that came out to support his "Rally for Relief," held at Ode Brewery Thursday night.
RUBEN R. RAMIREZ/EL PASO TIMES

Congressman Beto O'Rourke shares a beer with Ode Brewery owners before addressing the crowd that came out to support his "Rally for Relief," held at Ode Brewery Thursday night.
RUBEN R. RAMIREZ/EL PASO TIMES

Congressman Beto O'Rourke shares a beer with Ode Brewery owners before addressing the crowd that came out to support his "Rally for Relief," held at Ode Brewery Thursday night.
RUBEN R. RAMIREZ/EL PASO TIMES

Congressman Beto O'Rourke shares a beer with Ode Brewery owners before addressing the crowd that came out to support his "Rally for Relief," held at Ode Brewery Thursday night.
RUBEN R. RAMIREZ/EL PASO TIMES

Melissa O'Rourke mother of Congressman Beto O'Rourke was one of over 300 supporters that came out to support O'Rourke's "Rally for Relief," held at Ode Brewery Thursday night.
RUBEN R. RAMIREZ/EL PASO TIMES

Congressman Beto O'Rourke shares a beer with Ode Brewery owners before addressing the crowd that came out to support his "Rally for Relief," held at Ode Brewery Thursday night.
RUBEN R. RAMIREZ/EL PASO TIMES

Congressman Beto O'Rourke shares a beer with Ode Brewery owners before addressing the crowd that came out to support his "Rally for Relief," held at Ode Brewery Thursday night.
RUBEN R. RAMIREZ/EL PASO TIMES

Congressman Beto O'Rourke shares a beer with Ode Brewery owners before addressing the crowd that came out to support his "Rally for Relief," held at Ode Brewery Thursday night.
RUBEN R. RAMIREZ/EL PASO TIMES

U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke receives hugs from supporters who came out to his "Rally for Relief," held in August at Ode Brewery. He had toured Texas for the past 34 days. On Sunday, he said that "if anybody feels they’re being taken for granted, that’s on me to fix."
RUBEN R. RAMIREZ/EL PASO TIMES

O'Rourke also celebrated his fundraising numbers and said seeing such support for his mission gives him "more confidence and strength going into the next 13 months of the campaign."

"I think it’s extraordinary and beyond anything we could have expected or hoped for," O'Rourke said in an interview. "To be able to do this against somebody who spent the last five years building a national fundraising base for his presidential campaign, to be able to do this against an incumbent, I think, is extraordinary and it says less about me than it does about Texas, because most of that support we enjoyed came from Texas."

Since O'Rourke's campaign launched, 76 percent of his contributions came from in-state donors. All the money he raised between July and September came from 32,969 individual contributions.

During the same period, Cruz's campaign received 25,977 individual contributions from 17,941 unique donors. A percentage for Cruz's in-state donors was not available.

O'Rourke's campaign celebrated the fact that he drew nearly 7,000 more individual donations than Cruz, pointing to the difference as a "show of strength" for his campaign.

Jones said O'Rourke's commitment to only accepting individual contributions could create a base for future support.

"Every individual donor who gives to him under the limit is someone their campaign can go back to in a very effective way to tap for more funds," Jones said. "The more individuals who come out in favor of him by giving money are a ready and waiting reservoir for future campaign contributions once we hit 2018."

But for Rottinghaus, the numbers don't add up.

"This is a race that’s going to cost $50 million if you want to unseat a popular incumbent Republican," he said. "O’Rourke does not seem to be on pace to generate that money. To be frank, if he’s not taking big checks in general or specifically from PACs, it’s going to be impossible to get there."

Madlin Mekelburg is a reporter with the USA Today Austin Bureau; she may be reached at 512-479-6606; mmekelburg@elpasotimes.com; @madlinbmek on Twitter.